Civil war has broken out in Mexican football a year out from the country’s co-hosting of the Fifa World Cup, with second-tier clubs filing a complaint before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the absence of promotion-relegation.
Eleven clubs from Liga MX Expansión have filed the claim against 18 clubs from the top-tier Liga MX and the Mexican Football Federation (FMF).
The Expansión clubs are requesting the return of the promotion and relegation system between the leagues in a bid to prevent Liga MX becoming a closed league like Major League Soccer, as well as an end to multi-club ownership (MCO) in Mexican football. At present, four groups each own two clubs in Liga MX.
In 2020 clubs from Mexico’s top two divisions and the FMF agreed to a six-season suspension of the promotion and relegation system intended to help stabilise teams after the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As it stands, that suspension is due to be lifted for the 2025-26 season, but the Expansión clubs fear the FMF and some Liga MX teams are pushing for it to remain in place.
The claim reads: “Due to the total silence on behalf of the FMF, and considering the fact that there are only a few months left before the start of the new season … the appellant clubs highlighted the urgency of obtaining an answer in order to plan investments, infrastructure (projects), (player) acquisitions and broadcast rights negotiations for the upcoming season.
“It is essential to request that the FMF begins to process all legal documents and secondary norms that are necessary to facilitate the return of the previous promotion and relegation system.”
Eduardo Carlezzo, of the Brazilian law firm Carlezzo Advogados that is representing the Expansión clubs, explained: “This can credibly be considered the most significant ever football dispute in the country given its far-reaching repercussions – addressing major and controversial issues that have plagued Mexican football for years.
“It is completely absurd and nonsensical to oppose the return of promotion and relegation to Mexican football. We are talking about only one club being promoted and one being relegated. In Brazil, four clubs go up and down every year. In Spain, Italy, France and England, it’s three. We are simply asking the Federation and top clubs to respect that time is up.”
CAS has already had dealings with one Liga MX club in recent months, rejecting an appeal from Club Leon over its removal from the upcoming Fifa Club World Cup, given it is in the same ownership group as another tournament entry, Pachuca.
The legal case may well impact the $1.25bn (€1.19bn) offer made by private equity firm Apollo Global Management late last year to invest in a commercial rights subsidiary of Liga MX.
It is understood that offer came with a request to maintain a closed league in order to protect revenues and increase the value of clubs.
A vote on that Apollo offer was due to take place during a meeting of club owners last December but it was never held, which led to the resignation of Juan Carlos Rodríguez, commissioner of the league and national federation. Talks with Apollo continued to take place.
The creation of a commercial rights vehicle with Apollo would lead to the centralisation of media rights in Mexican football, albeit the fact that one or more Liga MX clubs are owned by major media groups has proven a complication over the years.